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401st Bomb Group, Mission No. 10, 31 Dec 1943, Cognac, France.
The primary target (Bordeaux) was obscured by cloud so the Wing Leader (Major Seawell) ordered the formation to proceed to the secondary target, a Luftwaffe Airbase at Cognac, which was bombed with excellent results.
Major I Wayne Eveland, 614th Squadron Commander, flying with Lt. H.E. McDanal and his crew in "Flak Rat" (42-37770) was shot down by fighters but evaded capture, ultimately returning to Deenethrope via Spain.
The wreckage of B-17 aircraft "Hey Lou" (42-31064), piloted by Lt. D. H. Lawry, was found off the coast of southern England. The cause of the loss was not determined, and only one body was recovered.
Two other aircraft ran out of fuel and were abandoned by the crews.
Group
The 401st Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses from Deenethorpe, Northamptonshire, from November 1943 to June 1945. Starting their missions at that time meant the focus was very much on the coming invasion attempt of France planned for the following...
Squadron
Squadron
Squadron
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 10/8/43; Gr Isle 3/9/43; Assigned 613BS/401BG [IN-N] Deenethorpe 3/1/44; Missing in Action Berlin 8/5/44 with Dana Lenkelt, Co-pilot: Wendell Johnson, Bombardier: Harry Dershimer, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Jesse Pack, Radio...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 15/9/43; Scott 20/10/43; Assigned 615BS/401BG [IY-K] Deenethorpe 11/11/43; Missing in Action Kassel 28/9/44 with Ed Aves, Co-pilot: Clayton Crunk, Navigator: Ralph Mezydlo, Bombardier: John MacDougall, Flight engineer/top turret...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 16/9/43; Scott 21/10/43; Assigned 612BS/401BG [SC-A] Deenethorpe 26/10/43; transferred 615BS [IY-A]; Missing in Action Munster 30/9/44 with Tom Davis, Co-pilot: Alan Newcomb, Navigator: Herb Corwin, Bombardier: Henry Kaczorowski,...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 17/9/43; Gt Falls 28/9/43; Assigned 612BS/401BG [SC-K] Deenethorpe 26/10/43; Missing in Action Politz 7/10/44 with Tom Hill, Wilbur Schmedel, Theo Block, Junius Chadwick, Jim Mullins, Vic Shewbert, Ed Hellenbeck, Buddy Keith, Omer...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 20/9/43; Gt Falls 4/10/43; Scott 28/10/43; Assigned 612BS/401BG [SC-M] Deenethorpe 16/11/43; Missing in Action Kiel 4/1/44 with Capt Bill Garland, Co-pilot: Maj Malcolm Martin (Sq. CO), Navigator: Ed Nolte, Flight engineer/top turret...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 20/9/43; Gt Falls 2/10/43; Scott 21/10/43; Assigned 615BS/401BG [IY-O] Deenethorpe 4/11/43; Missing in Action Merseburg 11/9/44 with Milton Wingard, Co-pilot: Bob Abresch, Navigator: Bob Sullivan, Tail gunner: Ed Chiariello (4...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 29/9/43; Gt Falls 14/10/43; Scott 21/10/43; Assigned 615BS/401BG [IY-B] Deenethorpe 4/11/43; Missing in Action Frankfurt 29/1/44 with Capt. Robert Beers, Co-pilot: Howard Byrne, Navigator: Harry Gershon, Bombardier: Bill Ritch,...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 30/9/43; Gr Island 1/11/43; Memphis 6/11/43; Assigned 612BS/401BG [SC-N] Deenethorpe 24/12/43; battle damaged Bordeaux 31/12/43, with Scribner Dailey, rest unknown (10 Returned to Duty); crash landed Kimbolton; Salvaged 4/1/44. FANCY...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 3/10/43; Gr Island 31/3/43; Wilmington 9/11/43; Assigned 613BS/401BG [IN-D] Deenethorpe 12/12/43; t/o for mission as spare but turned back, severely damaged as repairs were being undertaken on base, 29/3/44 with Walter B. Keith, Co...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 23/8/43; Scott 23/10/43; Assigned 614BS/401BG [IW-A] Deenethorpe 1/11/43; Missing in Action Bordeaux 31/12/43 with Homer McDanal, Co-pilot: Maj Ivan Eveland, Bombardier: Dan Goetsch, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Joe Kirkner (4...
31 December 1943
This mission is the last heavy bomber operation of 1943. 1943 had been a very "tough" year for the 8th Air Force in the European Theater of Operations (ETO). 23365 B-17s had been despatched on missions and 881 had Failed to Return (FTR) for a loss...
Military site : airfield
Deenethorpe was a base purpose-built for American heavy bombers, with the Class A regulation 2,000 and 1,400-yard runways. All the buildings on site,such as the accommodation and administrative blocks, were temporary. In December 1943, several local...
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 28 November 2021 22:18:28 | acbernstein1 | Changes to caption, unit associations and aircraft associations |
| Sources | ||
http://401bg.org/Main/History/Missions/Details.aspx?Number=10 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 07 November 2021 00:22:53 | acbernstein1 | Created entry with caption, unit associations, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
